English Department Coordinators

April 22, 2013

Calendar of Events for English

May 10SOL Simulations are locked!

April 22-May 3HSHS NWEA Testing Window

May 9 (8am)AP Literature and Composition Exam

May 10 (8am)AP Language and Composition Exam

May 10All H.S. Teacher Evaluation assessments need to be scored

May 13-15All H.S. Teachers complete Teacher Evaluation summary report

May 20-June 7SOL Testing Window—Writing Scores come back—Good Luck!

4:00—Middle school meeting

Teacher Evaluation

  • Spreadsheets for teachers:
  • HAT spreadsheet—8th grade (on the blog)
  • You can adapt the HAT spreadsheet for the MAP test and lessons you have done to address skill sets if you want to show mini lessons you have done along the way to address growth
  • Reports teachers should pull
  • Achieve 3000 Lexile Change Report (How has lexile performance changed over time)
  • NWEA Student Growth Summary Report
  • NWEA Student Progress Report
  • Justifications for students not showing growth—you should have this if you are on cycle for your planning meeting with your administrator

Questions, Comments, Concerns

4:20—All (Middle and High)

SOL Simulation

  • The English simulations have been loaded into the School Space LOR (English Language Arts Central Repository). The folder is named 2013 Simulation English Tests.
  • When you go to pull the test into your classes, you are required to link (not copy). The reason for this is that I need to see combined item analysis results for all of your students. You will still be able to view grades by class but I will be able to view an item analysis that contains data from all classes across the county.
  • An Exam View version has been posted in the LOR for printing and review purposed. Please remember these tests are to remain secure—just like the benchmarks!The EOC test contains 50 questions and the 6th, 7th and 8th contain 45. All have 4-6 passages.Test security is extremely important.
  • There are no SOL tags or data other than the score for this simulation. Teachers can do their own question analysis to see which type of questions students are doing poorly on as you all prepare for the real thing.

Summer Trainings

  • Here are the topics:
  • Grab bag of Ideas
  • Vocabulary Exercises
  • Close Reading and Annotation
  • Dialectical Journals/Cornell Notes
  • Novel Study--create your own integrated unit
  • Rewriting Old Assessments with New Stems
  • Achieve lead teacher training—(looking for a few teachers from each school to do in-depth training and be the teacher leaders/trainers for your school during the school year)

Who would you suggest from your school?

  • They will be in the ERO at the end of May

SOL Information

  • The English SOL Frequently Asked Questions document has just been posted—featuringall the questions about the English SOL you wanted to knowand were afraid to ask! This document will be updated on an as needed basis.
  • A discrepancy has been identified in some of the documentation explaining the tabbed presentation of paired reading passages on the Spring 2013 Reading Standards of Learning (SOL) tests. The discrepancy relates to which SOL Reading tests include the use of paired passages.
  • On page iii of the Spring 2013 Non-Writing Test Implementation Manual and in Testing Memo #1035, the following information is stated:

“Beginning with the Spring 2013 test administration, the tabbed display of paired passages will be implemented for the Grades 6, 7, and 8 SOL Reading tests in which paired passages are used.”

  • This information is incorrect; the grades 6 and 7 Reading SOL tests do not include paired passages in the Spring 2013 test administration. The grade 8 Reading and end-of-course Reading tests are the only tests that may include paired passages in spring 2013. The use of paired reading passages in the grades 6 and 7 Reading tests will not be implemented until the 2013-2014 school year.
  • A demonstration of scrolling on a SOL Reading Test has been added to the Sample Test items page. Please note there are no questions associated with this demonstration.

  • The BOE adopted cut scores for the SOL Reading Assessments and accepted for first review cut scores for the SOL Writing Assessments, and the VMAST Reading Assessments. The approved cut scores follow:

  • SOL Test Security Guidelines and Test Security Agreement: It has been reported to VDOE that misinformed individuals may be encouraging test examiners and proctors to review secure SOL test items while monitoring students taking SOL tests. As explained in the 2012-2013 Test Security Guidelines and Test Security Agreement, any individual with access to the SOL assessments, including examiners and proctors, are explicitly prohibited from reviewing, taking notes, copying, printing, photographing, or divulging the content of SOL test items to anyone.

Stateupdates (from April state meeting)

  • VATE Conference will be in Williamsburg this year on October 25
  • NCTE Convention for 2014 will be in D.C. Organizers are looking for NCTE/VATE members to serve on committees now—please check their sites
  • Standard Diploma Credit Accommodations for Students with Disabilities
    The Board of Education has approved Guidelines for Standard Diploma Credit Accommodations for Students with Disabilities (PDF) to provide alternatives for these students in meeting the requirements for a Standard Diploma. Direct questions about credit accommodations to .
  • Old released tests have been archived on the state site—the state specialists does not want people using tests as review tools—says it’s not going to help
  • If you choose to use released items—please choose items before 2010 and rewrite the questions and answers to the new SOLs
  • New test will not be released till Spring 2015
  • Lexile scores—State SOL usually has lexile score associated with it—this will not be the case for the Spring tests
  • SOL scores—the Pass Advanced label now shows as Pass Advance/College Path on some tests
  • Stand-alone items will appear throughout the tests, not just at the end
  • No information on writing scores yet because the board has not approved cut scores—look for scores in late May/June (hopefully) (UPDATE: The recommended cut scores were approved)
  • Across the state, pass rates on EOC reading show 10-20 percentage point drop (i.e. schools who have scored 90% in the past are scoring 70-80% on new test); Lowest scoring category is vocabulary.

4:45—High school meeting

All Henrico Reads

  • This Wednesday, April 24 at 10 a.m.
  • Students need to be seated and ready at 10 a.m.
  • Please screen student question tomorrow, if your librarian has not already done so
  • Please have at least one student with good questions sitting on the aisle of the auditorium whom I can pull to ask questions
  • The author will be talking and answering questions on both novels, so if you could have one representative for each novel, that would be perfect!

Teacher evaluation items

  • All teachers must conduct growth assessments and collect data! The goal is that teachers come to you with three years of data to show their effectiveness in the classroom.
  • 9, 11, 12th grade must do both the oral reading assessment and lesson assessment
  • 10th grade must do the HAT and oral reading or lesson assessment
  • All pre-assessments (oral and lesson) should have been scored by December 7
  • 16 is the highest score for both
  • Students scoring an 8 or lower are underperforming (did not pass and need interventions charted)
  • Remember you are grading to a rubric, you can tell after the first two or so paragraphs of the oral reading where the child is scoring!
  • Any activities you have done in class to enrich/assess the skills should have been added to the document as proof of growth
  • The post assessment window is open now. All items should be scored by May 10.
  • Items are on the blog
  • You only need to test/score/post for those students at 8 or lower the first go round
  • A summary report sheet will be sent to you (to forward to teachers) on May 13. It needs to be completed by May 15.
  • Summer session to reform evaluation options for next year will be posted on ERO at the end of May

Online 12

  • Online 12 Summer did not make
  • Has this full-year class “made” at any of your schools?
  • We will create it regardless—that way teachers will have resources and ideas for a few of the stories they teach (I already have of team of teachers for this)
  • The course is honors, but selections and activities are chosen based on student’s ability to grasp the text/assignment without teacher assistance—so all teachers will be able to use the content